Back in October I briefly mentioned that my 240z was getting a full restoration job and since it’s a slow news day, here is an update. Back in October after getting my 1970 Alfa registration done and I could drive it I decided to drop the car off at a garage called Blue Collar to get it fully restored. Blue Collar was a body shop in Shuwaikh that kept getting more and more classic cars to work on so they decided to open up a separate garage just for classics and I was going to be their first customer.
Progress has been going really well, they nicknamed the car Rusty because of the amount of rust it had on the undercarriage. Instead of the rust getting repaired over its lifetime, previous owners just had metal panels bonded over the rust spots which didn’t really fix things. So they basically had to cut out all the old flooring and install new panels and you can see the difference between the photo above and below. I knew the car had rust issues when I bought it, I just didn’t think it was this bad. There were some other bodywork issues around the car as well but one by one they were all fixed.
A reader who’s restored six other 240z’s previously is also helping me with the car restoration as well. He hooked me up with a guy who rebuilt an engine for me and has been handing me lists of parts to get for the car so that it eventually ends up brand new. When I started the project I honestly wasn’t planning a full restoration but the more I got into it the more I realized it’s something I really wanted. I set a budget for myself upfront on how much I was going to spend on this and based on my expense sheet I’m 80% there but I’ve also pretty much-purchased everything. The most expensive item I’ve had to purchase was a full Fujitsubo exhaust system and the second most expensive item was a fuel injection replacement kit.
I’m keeping the color of the car blue and since all the bodywork is nearly complete it’s going to hit the paint booth soon. I’m really excited and can’t wait until I get the car back. I’m hoping it will be done and ready before the summer hits when I’m going to park the Alfa away for the summer.
13 replies on “Blue Datsun 240z Update”
Looking good. Makes me want to buy another and fully restore if need.
It would be interesting to read a list of the works/upgrades that you have or are planning to carry out and estimated costs for each stage?
just posted it below
Good luck Mark with the Z!
Yeah it would be nice to know how much was put into it in the end . A stage by stage breakdown starting with how much it cost to how much went into making it beautiful and road worthy would help those of us who want to go into something like this as a side project
Yeah I can do that. Here is a screenshot of basically all the items I’ve ordered but not including car cost, engine cost, bodywork cost or shipping costs.
https://248am.com//images/2020/02/240zparts.jpg
The car cost me KD2,750 but knowing what I know now I could have gotten it for less. Engine cost me KD170 (L28) but the rebuild of the engine cost me a few hundred more and the fuel injector kit another 400. The bodywork is costing me nearly as much as the cost of the car and that’s a special price for me since I was the first car at the new shop. All the nuts and bolts and random metal parts for the car were acid-washed and then galvenized so they look new and that cost KD80. Also sourced a clean front chrome bumper locally or KD150 since my chrome one was dented.
The interior of the car was originally white so I basically had to buy a new interior including all the plastic panels, vinyl, carpets, door panels, seat covers etc.. The engine that came with the car was an L20 Turbo and I’ve swapped it out for an L28. I also had to pay shipping for everything which hasn’t been that bad really except the exhaust system which I assumed would be around 40KG is currently showing as 112KG with the Japanese mail company. I’m hoping thats volumetric weight and not actual weight, will see how much it actually is once it gets into my shop and ship account. Hopefully it’s not really 112KG since that would mean i’m gonna pay like 360KD just for shipping.
My total budget for the build is 10K including the car cost and I’m up to around 8.3 right now and this doesn’t include final payment for the body work (paid half so far) nor the shipping cost of the exhaust. I also need to pay an electrician around 300 to take care of all the electrical work needed with the car (checking/fixing wiring harness, installing electronic fuel injection system). Then there is another 350 I need to pay to install an AC system. So it’s safe to say I’m going to exceed my 10K budget but hopefully not exceed 11K.
The detail we want 👍
I was gonna comment that bodywork is gonna be by far your biggest cost but then I noticed you mentioned it later on. Restomodding can get expensive.
Thank you for the well detailed expense.. I’ll rethink on restoring a car🙏😅
I don’t think car builds should be relegated to slow days, every month or so would be great
waiting eagerly for the restoration to be completed.
I’m really looking to buy one of these and rebuilt it. Once I decide i’ll defiantly inbox you to get more details.
Oh please do would love to help. This is my second 240z and the friend who’s helping me out with this build is extremely experienced and knows the cars inside out down to ever bolt.
Barn Find Datsun 280z with only 350 Original Miles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZlIl74b0Ss